Even before Memphis in May brought the Beale Street Music Festival to town, the WLOK Stone Soul Picnic drew people to the Mississippi River to groove on music and food. It was 1974 when a couple of the radio station’s staffers (DJ Wild Child and David Acey) thought it would be a good idea to go to what is now Martin Luther King Riverside Park on a summer Saturday. They’d play some music, get the King Cotton company to provide some meat, Wonder Bread to bring the buns, and Coca-Cola to supply the beverages. They supposed a couple of hundred people would show up. They supposed wrong. Thousands turned out and a tradition was born.
“In the evolution of the Stone Soul Picnic, it’s gone to different venues, but it has also evolved musically. When we began, WLOK was an R&B station. As we moved into Gospel, the picnic itself did as well.” — Art Gilliam
A couple of years later, Art Gilliam acquired the station, which he runs to this day. He saw that the picnic was a good thing, so he kept it going, refining it as needed, but always keeping it free as a thank-you to the station’s listeners. The 45th iteration is happening August 31st, with about a dozen musical groups headlined by the Bar-Kays. It will be at the Levitt Shell in Overton Park, the latest location for the event that was also held for a while at Tom Lee Park.
Art Gilliam. Photograph courtesy WLOK.
While the picnic is the signature event of the WLOK Stone Soul Weekend, there is another component that Gilliam has been championing. It’s the fourth year for the WLOK Black Film Festival, which takes place in various locations over four days. It reflects the station’s commitment to the community by showing award-winning Hollywood films as well as short films by emerging filmmakers.
The picnic and the film festival are crucial to what Gilliam sees as being part of an overall unity event. The station has recently established awards and recognition for people in town who are making a difference. We asked Gilliam what his take is on the evolving WLOK event on its 45th birthday.
MM: You’ve kept the spirit of the picnic, but you’re also making changes. Tell us about those.
Gilliam: Given what’s going on in our city and changes observed over these 40-plus years, we felt that it would be great to have it as a unity event for Memphis. We started last year giving our community awards. One, for example, was the Courage in Politics award, given to Mayor Jim Strickland. Interestingly, we also had a Community Activism award that went to Tami Sawyer. The award for Outstanding Citizenship went to Rick James of Cash Saver because of his role in moving that grocery store into the community in southwest Memphis where the Kroger had left.
We’re carrying that forward again this year, plus we’ll have a Music Legends award, which is new.
In the evolution of the Stone Soul Picnic, it’s gone to different venues, but it has also evolved musically. When we began, WLOK was an R&B station. As we moved into Gospel, the picnic itself did as well. This year we’re mixing the music and we’re pleased that the Bar-Kays are going to be the feature act for us. This is their 55th anniversary, and they, too, have reinvented themselves several times. They also represent a kind of unity that all people really enjoy and love. They were among the first groups that WLOK played; “Soul Finger” was an early song and we had a role in helping them establish themselves years ago.
Tell us about the WLOK Black Film Festival.
We wanted to expand the picnic from being a one-day event on Saturday. We felt there was a space in Memphis — and really throughout the country — for black film festivals. We’ve defined a black film as one done by a black director, or has a black actor in a major role, or is a social justice film that has relevance to the African-American community.
We started it at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art four years ago, with films shown on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We began to do more classic films and we’ve evolved to where this year we have more contemporary films. We also have a new filmmakers section with shorter films and we offer a $500 prize for the best one. There are five events over four days:
- This year we’re screening the 2018 film Widows, starring Viola Davis at the CTI 3D Giant Theater at the Pink Palace, on Thursday, the first night of the festival. There will also be restaurant sampling beforehand.
- The next night is Dreamgirls with Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy at Crosstown Concourse.
- Saturday night is short works by new filmmakers at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
- There are two screenings Sunday: The Hate U Give, a highly rated 2018 film about a police shooting, will show at the Malco Paradiso. The Sunday evening film is Green Book, showing at the National Civil Rights Museum. The film, with Mahershala Ali and Viggo Mortensen, won several awards, including three Oscars.
There will be discussions after both of Sunday’s films. The panel at The Hate U Give will include Olliette Murry-Drobot, executive director of the Family Safety Center, and representatives of law enforcement. After Green Book, the panel will include U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Memphis), and Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr. of New Sardis Baptist Church. U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Georgia) has also been invited.
This has an enormous potential for Memphis because there are not a lot of black film festivals around the country. We recognize that today in Hollywood, there are concerns about black actors and others in the film industry being recognized. We think that down the road we would be able to hopefully bring up some of the people who are players in the industry and have this film festival evolve into something that’s positive for not just Memphis and even on a broader scale. That’s our vision.
“We’ve evolved pretty quickly into more of a community station. The Stone Soul Picnic is one example of that, but there are many other things we do that are community-related.”
And part of our goal down the road is to develop a documentary about unity, a theme of trying to bring people together. So that’s a project that we’re looking at to maybe get off the ground in a year or two. We’re laying the groundwork for that now, working through, we hope, the University of Memphis.
We have a unity vision now for each event going forward. It’s important for a message to emanate from the black community that reaches out saying let’s come together and be one.
What’s the story behind the name Stone Soul Picnic?
It was derived from the 1968 song “Stoned Soul Picnic,” written by Laura Nyro that was made popular by the 5th Dimension (No. 3 on the U.S. Pop Chart) on their platinum album of the same name. The “d” in the title was taken out for obvious reasons. But there were no objections on the alteration or the use of the title since as a radio station helping those groups we would be playing their record. And they were pretty happy to have us playing that music all the time.
You took over WLOK in 1977. How has the radio business changed since then?
When we first came in, you would see records on the walls. The station had helped [artists] make gold or platinum records and some of the function of radio, at least from the standpoint of some of the record companies, was a means by which their records got bought and played. Since then, we’ve evolved pretty quickly into more of a community station. The Stone Soul Picnic is one example of that, but there are many other things we do that are community-related. We do a voter registration drive with a couple of organizations who want to come and get people to register to vote. We also do health-related things. At the picnic, we’ll have a focus on sickle cell disease.
Our focus has changed by design and not just for competitive reasons, but because it’s who we are, from selling records to being a part of our community. And that has really made a difference in terms of how we’re perceived in the community. It creates a different sort of image of what you’re doing and what your niche is. Know the community and you can sell that.
WLOK Stone Soul Weekend
Thursday, August 29th
The WLOK Black Film Festival begins with a screening of Widows, with Viola Davis and Liam Neeson at 7 p.m. at the Pink Palace. At 6 p.m., there will be a restaurant sampler event.
Friday, August 30th
Black Film Festival continues with Dreamgirls starring Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Jamie Foxx, and Eddie Murphy at 7 p.m. at Crosstown Concourse.
Saturday, August 31st
WLOK Stone Soul Picnic starts at noon at the Levitt Shell with musical acts throughout the afternoon. The Bar-Kays perform at 6 p.m. The WLOK Black Film Festival resumes with the New Film Makers Production at 7 p.m. at Southwest Tennessee Community College.
Sunday, September 1st
Black Film Festival screens The Hate U Give at 3 p.m. at Malco Paradiso, followed by a discussion of family and social issues presented in the film. At 7 p.m., the film Green Book will be shown at the National Civil Rights Museum. It will be followed by a discussion of the issues depicted in the film.
